November 21st, 2008

Today in History

1986:
Iran-Contra Affair: National Security Council member Oliver North and his secretary start to shred documents implicating them in the sale of weapons to Iran and channeling the proceeds to help fund the Contras rebels in Nicaragua.

1967:
Vietnam War: American General William Westmoreland tells news reporters: "I am absolutely certain that whereas in 1965 the enemy was winning, today he is certainly losing."

1922:
Rebecca Latimer Felton of Georgia takes the oath of office, becoming the first woman United States Senator.

1861:
American Civil War: Confederate President Jefferson Davis appoints Judah Benjamin secretary of war.

1783:
In Paris, Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent, marquis d'Arlandes, make the first untethered hot air balloon flight (flight time: 25 minutes, Maximum height: 100m, distance: 9 km).